"Inconsistent data masks the pandemic’s toll on Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders"
PBS News Hour interviewed Dr. Ninez Ponce, professor of health policy and management, about the need to disaggregate COVID-19 statistics in the U.S.
![Dr. Ninez Ponce](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/hero/public/2022-08/2022.03.30_Ponce_PBS_Masthead.png?itok=1vYFly5R)
As COVID-19 swept across the United States, it became clear that the virus disproportionately affected certain racial and ethnic groups.
But the outsized impact of the pandemic on one community, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders has been largely hidden because of inconsistent data collection and reporting.
Stephanie Sy has the story. It's part of our series Race Matters.
Faculty Referenced by this Article
![Michelle Keller](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-07/keller-michelle_500x500.jpg?itok=uJryn-xx)
Dr. Michelle S. Keller is a health services researcher whose research focuses on the use and prescribing of high-risk medications.
![James Macinko](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-07/Macinko%2C%20J_500x500_10.jpg?itok=bsG1e-s6)
Professor of Community Health Sciences & Health Policy and Management, and Associate Dean for Research
![Faculty/staff profile placeholder image](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-07/person-placeholder.jpg?itok=Yj28CoTl)
EMPH Academic Program Director with expertise in healthcare marketing, finance, and reproductive health policy, teaching in the EMPH, MPH, MHA program
Nationally recognized health services researcher and sociomedical scientist with 25+ years' experience in effectiveness and implementation research.
![Faculty/staff profile placeholder image](https://ph.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-07/person-placeholder.jpg?itok=Yj28CoTl)
Dr. Ron Andersen is the Wasserman Professor Emeritus in the UCLA Departments of Health Policy and Management.
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Data from the California Health Interview Survey, led by principal investigator Dr. Ninez Ponce, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health professor of health policy and management, highlight needs of California’s fastest growing population groups.
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